2010 Class Opening Retreat
On May 12, 2010, the 56 members of the 2010 Class of Leadership Kentucky gathered at Jabez to begin their seven-month journey across Kentucky. This year’s class possesses ethnic, gender and geographic diversity and represents a cross-section of Kentucky’s public and private business communities.
On a sunny Wednesday morning the new class members found their way to Jabez – a leadership challenge in itself. It was exciting to welcome each one as they arrived! The class introductions revealed the broad interests and humor of the class members and were informative and enjoyable. Leadership Kentucky Board Chair, Steven E. Trager kicked off the 2010 Retreat with his remarks on leadership, and the benefits, rewards, and obligations of being chosen for the 2010 Class of Leadership Kentucky.
Following the fun and excitement of the class introductions, we were quickly brought back to reality by Ron Crouch as he both dazzled and confused this year’s class members with the enormous amount of data he compiled and reviewed with them.
Following Ron’s presentation and dinner, Virginia Carter, ’03, Executive Director, Kentucky Humanities Council, Inc., spoke to the class about her Leadership Kentucky experience and the wide range of offerings of the Humanities Council. She then introduced to the class members, The Honorable Henry Clay, portrayed by George McGee. George’s interactive portrayal truly brought Kentucky’s Great Statesman to life and made this portion of the history of Kentucky quite memorable.
On Thursday, the class, under the facilitation of Dr. Larry Peppers, completed the SIMSOC exercise and were rewarded for their patience and perseverance with an ice-cream social during the wrap-up. The weather continued to be warm and sunny and our planned cookout provided an excellent meal outdoors followed by Dr. James C. Klotter’s presentation on The History of Kentucky. Jim stayed after his presentation to sign copies of his book, A Concise History of Kentucky, which was presented to the class.
Friday morning’s first speaker, Teresa T. Hail, ’08 and LKY Board, spoke fondly of her Leadership Kentucky experiences, from what she learned to the lifelong friendships that were made and her continued involvement on the Leadership Kentucky Board of Directors.
After Teresa’s inspiring message, the class divided into groups by region working on an exercise entitled Kentucky Priorities, otherwise know as the “Sandwich Card exercise”. A compilation of their work will be provided to them at a later date. Members of the Class of 2006 first requested the compilation and we have continued the tradition since that time. 
Dr. John S. Roush, President, Centre College, was the final presenter during the Opening Session. His presentation on Lincoln and Leadership was very well received by the class members. During his tenure as President of Centre, Dr. Roush has set the bar high and his administration fosters a culture of enthusiastic achievement. For details see High Impact Education, page 34, May 2010, The Lane Report.
After lunch our planned outdoor activities for the second year in a row, had to be cancelled due to the amount of debris in the lake and the destruction of the Center’s dock during the high water.
With the assistance and flexibility of the wonderful staff at Jabez, the 2010 Class ate lunch on the porch on a beautiful sunny afternoon, participated in a recap of the retreat by each stating (a) what they most enjoyed; and (b) what they most looked forward to during their seven months together, said their goodbyes to new friends and headed toward their respective homes.
We offer a very special note of thanks to Norton Healthcare for sponsoring all of our meals during the Opening Retreat at Jabez. We greatly appreciate their continued interest and generosity. We also thank Maker’s Mark and Brown-Forman Corporation for libations for our hospitality room. And, many thanks to the Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement at Northern Kentucky University for providing the sponsorship of a copy of Dr. Thomas D. Clark’s A History of Kentucky to each class member.
